As the NFL is under growing government scrutiny for its broadcast arrangements and its recent practice of airing games on paywalled streaming platforms, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been invited to testify before Congress.
The commissioner received a letter on Monday from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, asking him to attend a hearing on June 10 that will look at the league’s TV agreements and whether they comply with the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961.
Professional sports leagues can combine their broadcast rights and negotiate as a single organization while being shielded from antitrust litigation according to the 65-year-old law’s limited antitrust exemption.
Only broadcast networks are subject to the regulation. In the past, courts have decided that it does not extend to other media, such as streaming, cable, and satellite. President Donald Trump has been one of the critics of the NFL’s use of streaming, and there has been bipartisan support for amending the legislation.
The hearing next week will “examine the extent to which the professional sports leagues have used the antitrust exemption created by the SBA to harm consumers and whether potential legislative remedies may be needed to address that harm,” according to Jordan’s letter.
An Associated Press request for comment on the letter was not immediately answered by an NFL spokesman.
During a press conference at the NFL football owners’ meetings on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Orlando, Florida, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell responds to inquiries. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Congress’s action coincides with the Justice Department’s investigation into possible anticompetitive behavior by the NFL.
When the investigation was made public in April, a government official who was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation by name stated that it was “about affordability for consumers and creating an even playing field for providers.”
Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, urged the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department to examine whether the NFL’s distribution practices adhere to the 1961 legislation in a letter sent in March.
Regarding the transition of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services, the FTC has asked the public for feedback.
According to the NFL, 87% of its games are available on free television, while games that are only broadcast on cable or streaming services can still be watched live in the home markets of the rival clubs.
CBS/Paramount+, NBC/Peacock, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, Fox, NFL Network, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and YouTube TV are among the companies with which the league has broadcast or streaming agreements.
In 2022, the league shifted its Thursday night games to Prime Video. Since then, it has transferred a Black Friday game, a Christmas Day game, and a wild-card playoff game to streamers.
This season, Netflix will stream a Green Bay Packers-Rams game the day before Thanksgiving and a San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams game in Melbourne, Australia, during opening week.
